January as National Mentoring Month began in 1997 by Harvard University and in 2002 was formally put in place by the U.S. and adopted by other countries including Canada.

January was chosen because it is the month when people make resolutions and set goals for the upcoming year and the organizers thought, “Why not resolve to mentor?” The alternative to that would be, why not resolve to find a mentor?

Much has been written about mentoring. Catalyst has done some great research on this topic, including, “Making Mentoring Work”, with the added benefit of tools to help you achieve success in your mentoring relationships.  Most recently Catalyst has offered up new research “Sponsoring Women in Success” that takes mentoring to a new level and suggests that seeking out a sponsor, someone who can advocate on your behalf, may be a better way to support your career goals to the senior levels. Sponsorship is a more influential and specific professional relationship.

Whether you choose to ask someone to mentor or sponsor you, keep a few of things in mind:

1. Respect - You are asking them to give up valuable time to meet with you so be very flexible about meeting times, which very well may need to be re-scheduled at the last minute.
2. Preparation - Come prepared to ask for advice and guidance. You may want advice on how you handled a specific situation or you may want to review a project or assessment that you are working on. Make sure you demonstrate leadership, initiative and self-reliance. Think about different ways to ask questions or gain information other than simply asking your mentor. It is always good to show that you have explored other avenues before you come to the meeting.
3. Career Goals - Come prepared to discuss your career aspirations along with your strengths and weaknesses and concrete ideas of how to strengthen your weaknesses.
4. Homework - Be prepared to go away with homework. It may be a book or an article to read and be ready to discuss at your next meeting.

The second piece to National Mentoring Month is a Mentor Appreciation Day to thank those people who have mentored you over the years and helped you accomplish your goals. Take a few minutes before month end to think about all the wonderful people who have contributed to your career over the past year. Send them a short thank you expressing your appreciation of their efforts and tell them how their mentorship helped you achieve your goals.